Taxonomy This 'class' was erected in 1970 by Hartman & Goreau as a follow up of their rediscovery of Ceratoporella and other coralline sponges in deep reef caves off Jamaica. Coralline sponges build a solid limestone basal skeleton but their soft tissues and spicules are closely similar to non-coralline sponges, leading - after a long scientific debate in which both paleontologists and neontologists took part - to the conclusion that the 'class' is polyphyletic. Many textbooks and databases still continue to recognize sclerosponges as a separate group. [details]